Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday

Hi friends!  Today’s post is one I’ve been anxious to write for MONTHS now.  I’m so excited to finally be hitting publish on this, but I know I’ll need your help.  About six months ago, I started to think about what I wanted to do with What Nicole Wore for my birthday.  That may sound materialistic or self-centered but I assure you it’s not.  This year for my birthday I want to be an advocate to end child hunger.

And before anyone’s like, “ummmm that’s not possible,” I get it.  We can’t end childhood hunger in one month.  What we can do is make a huge difference.  One organization that does this is Blessings in a Backpack and for the whole month of August {plus this bonus week!}, I’ll be fundraising for them.

Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday | What They Do

Blessings in a Backpack is a non-profit that works with businesses, individuals, and communities to ensure that elementary school children that receive free or reduced lunch each day at school don’t go hungry during the weekend.  Children are sent home with a backpack full of food for the weekend.  The organization has fed over 87,000 kids across the United States at over 1,000 schools.  Did you know: over 13 MILLION children in the United States live in food insecure homes?  I truly believe no child should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.  Children should be reading books, playing in their yards, and getting nagged to clean their rooms.  They shouldn’t be hungry.

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Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday | My Personal Tie

My friend Sarah completed her first year of teaching in May.  While I don’t want to totally speak for her; from the outside looking in it seemed to be an eye-opening experience.  Before winter break, Sarah sent me a photo of the bags she was putting together for her second graders.  She made sure to get a puzzle for each student as several had told her they weren’t expecting any gifts.  What really struck me was that she included lots of non-perishable food.

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When I asked why she explained that some of her students had been stealing others’ snacks. When she talked to them about it they told her they were worried that they wouldn’t have food during the break from school.  It broke my heart.  I’m very fortunate and the holidays have always been an exciting and happy time for me and my family.  To be completely honest, I can’t imagine what it would be like to not know where my next meal was coming from.  I ended up buying food from Costco and taking it to Sarah and she told me about Blessings in a Backpack.  I immediately knew this was a charity that I wanted to give to and find ways to support.

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Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday | About Blessings in a Backpack & Your Donation

While I typically don’t like saying when I make donations because it seems braggy, I think it’s important to state that I have made several donations to Blessings in a Backpack so that you understand that it is something important to me.  So here’s more information:

Blessings in a Backpack is based in Louisville, Kentucky and was founded in 2005.  When they started they supported two schools.  They now serve 1,092 schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

What does your donation do? A $25 donation helps provide 10 hunger free weekends and $100 feeds one child for an entire school year.  Any donation helps to make sure kids aren’t hungry!

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Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday | How to Help Me Reach My Goal

I’ve set the goal of raising $500 this year {although full disclosure, I’d love to reach $1,000 and will probably cry if we make it!}.  Here’s how you can help make this happen:

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• Make a donation through the What Nicole Wore team! {NOTE: Money raised through the Facebook fundraiser goes DIRECTLY to Blessings in a Backpack!}
• Spread the word by sharing the fundraiser to your Facebook friends, inviting friends to the shopping event I’m hosting, or by sharing this post on social media!
• Coming out to my birthday party at Kendra Scott where 20% of sales will be donated!
• Not local but love Kendra? No worries, they’ll be offering FREE shipping during the party and still will donate 20% of your purchase!

Why I Need Your Help for My Birthday | Come Hang!

Hosting events gives me a lot of anxiety to be totally honest; I get that “nobody’s going to come to my birthday party” kind of panic.  Now that the event actually is for my birthday, I’m feeling a little stressed.  So please, even if you’re not in the market for new bling from Kendra Scott, feel free to stop by and say hey! We’ll have mini cakes PLUS my favorite wine from Trader Joe’s and are raising money for an awesome cause.

I know that fundraising is definitely different than my usual content; hopefully this post has helped to explain why I’m so passionate about this charity.  Throughout the month, I’ll be sure to share updates on how things are going.  Again, I am so thankful for the community that I’ve found through What Nicole Wore and grateful for the voice it gives me!  Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart for your support and love each and every day.